A prickly question, that one.

Nevertheless, he’d come this far already.

“[color=00aeef]Well, Vuduin, at this stage I have no idea what you can do that the others cannot, however i’m having a [i]very[/i] bad day, and merely the knowledge that another person - and an Avatar at that - is searching for me would improve my mood immensely.[/color]” Drystan glanced around the room disdainfully. “[color=00aeef]After all, I’m more or less trapped in this stuffy hole until the tournament is complete.[/color]” 

He thought deeply before speaking again. “[color=00aeef]I guess curiosity as to the Orb’s actual use is warranted here. Not many people actually know, and it’s not the kind of information that you want idly floating around in common conversation.[/color]” Rapping his fingers on his knees in a repeated pattern, he attempted to phrase the explanation in a way that would be easily understood. “[color=00aeef]It’s… complicated, to say the least, but i’ll try my best.[/color]”

“[color=00aeef]Let me apologise up front,[/color]” he said, succinctly. “[color=00aeef]This may come across as a history lesson, but the earlier we start, the easier things will be to grasp.[/color]” Reclining in the chair, Drystan shifted to get comfortable, opening the top few buttons on his shirt and loosening the tie around his neck in an attempt to deal with the heat. “[color=00aeef]And besides, I love a good story.[/color]”

Rubbing his hands together, his eyes were filled with something resembling glee as he began to speak. “[color=00aeef]Most people mistakenly link Dialga, Palkia and Giratina together in a  trio, but that isn’t strictly true. While the three are closely related, Dialga and Palkia are a matching couple, whereas Giratina plays a different role. He is, in many ways, the opposite to Arceus.  Where one is Light, the other is Dark. Where one creates, the other destroys.[/color]”

“[color=00aeef]Giratina’s power comes from the other world. The Distortion. The Void. The Space Between,[/color]" Drystan said, smiling, “[color=00aeef]and I could go on. It has adapted many names dating from the very dawn of language itself. Commonly, the Distortion is a symbol of nothingness. That, my friend, is a lie,[/color]” he stated with a shake of his head. “[color=00aeef]In fact, it is a plane wrapped in darkness, containing the energies of death, madness and [i]evil[/i]. The true kind, not like a single act engineered in anger, but the raw kind that causes wild Pokemon to flee in terror and the land to wither.[/color]”

Nearby, an attendant placed down a box of alcoholic beverages, some kind of beer, surrounded in ice. Despite not being the kind of man to get emotional over things, Drystan nearly shed tears of sweet joy at the sight. “[color=00aeef]Hold that thought,[/color]” he said to Vuduin, holding up a finger before striding over and grabbing a couple of bitter-cold glass bottles. Returning to his chair, he remained standing for a moment, holding both out in front of him. It took her a moment, but Deladriss noticed the patient look on her master’s face, and she opened both bottles with her claws in the blink of an eye. 

“[color=00aeef]Drinking before a match probably isn’t the wisest idea, but neither is dying from heatstroke before it even begins.[/color]” Placing one bottle beside Vuduin and re-taking his seat, Drystan took a slug of beer. The look on his face was something only a shade from pure bliss. “[color=00aeef]Now that was most definitely worth the detour. Anyway, Arceus was the one who originally created the Griseous Orb when Giratina was first imprisoned. It was to act as insurance should he ever escape, and was entrusted to Dialga and Palkia, who used their powers to seal it away.[/color]”

Taking another greedy gulp, he forced himself to slow down, before the effects ended up hitting him right before the match. “[color=00aeef]One of the first things Dialga asked me to do upon our merging was to locate the Orb, knowing full well that Giratina might walk the earth once more. Naturally, it was gone,[/color]” he said with a sigh.  “[color=00aeef]Neither Legend thought to check on it, given that it had been sealed away using Palkia’s ability to warp the very fabric of space. Whether it was a group of tenacious humans assuming they’d found an expensive gem, or some kind of curious burrowing Pokemon is a question we are yet to answer.[/color]”

“[color=00aeef]The Orb itself is a connection between Giratina and the Distortion. More specifically, it is a power limiter, designer to stop the sheer and unfiltered power of the Distortion from flowing directly into his head. Consider just how many years of entropy the thing has had to cope with already, and now with Giratina using his power again, it will increase the rate of decay several-[i]thousandfold[/i]. As it weakens, so does its effect, giving Giratina more power to use. A vicious cycle, one that [i]will[/i] break.[/color]”

Placing the bottle against his head, Drystan relished the freezing droplets of water which began to run down his face. “[color=00aeef]If that Orb is allowed to shatter, what happened last night will be just the start. A colossal monster will roam the land, nigh-unkillable, spreading decay and blight wherever he goes. A blight that would make the power plague look like a joke,[/color]” he said, visibly paling several shades as though contemplating the outcome. “[color=00aeef]Giratina will get the blame, even though the matter will be entirely out of his control. That [i]cannot[/i] happen. I [i]will not[/i] let it.[/color]” Drystan’s face had shifted, taking on a mask of dark and steely determination.

“[color=00aeef]I must find the Orb. With my power, I can tick back the clock, just as I did with your glasses. If I make it as new as the day Arceus crafted it, I can stave off the apocalypse for another few million years. That is the stakes I am dealing with right now, and why I am willing to throw as much money and people at this problem as possible.[/color]” His eyes snapped wide at that. “[color=00aeef]Oh, of course. I do not expect you to search out of the goodness of your heart, either. I can afford to pay you for your time, and I am a very generous employer, Vudin.[/color]”

“[color=00aeef]Of that you can be [i]assured[/i].[/color]”